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Rina, a mother of five living right on the water in Sheepshead Bay in the Brooklyn borough of New York City had her home flooded in Superstorm Sandy and was forced to evacuate without knowing when she

could return. By Friday, November 02, 2012, a friend living in the relative safety of the Bronx has raised over $3,000 of emergency cash for Rina and her kids by setting up a crowdfunding page at GoFundMe.com.

Retired Brooklyn Tech High School football coach, "DiBo" DiBenedetto lost his home in Belle Harbor, New York to a fire that reportedly damaged or destroyed more than twenty homes in the storm and Malcolm Davis, a football coach at Xaverian High School set up a page at GoFundMe.com that raised over $15,000 in 48 hours to help the coach start over.

Kate O’Sullivan launched a GoFundMe page to help those in her neighborhood of Rockaway Beach in the borough of Queens New York on Wednesday; by Friday afternoon, she’d raised over $6,000 to buy generators and other emergency supplies—well ahead of the arrival of help from the Red Cross or FEMA. She was in Boston during the storm and was able to buy supplies there, rent a U-haul and get them to New York.

Rebecca Zinger, who set up the page for Rina and her children, explained, “I’m only doing this because I’m like a sister [to Rina] and I love her.” She set up the page on GoFundMe initially hoping only to raise $500, but when that goal was quickly surpassed, she raised the goal to $5,000. In just one day she’s raised over $3,000 for Rina, whose oldest recently turned 13 and just celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.

Rina with her children, recently celebrating the Bar Mitzvah of her oldest son

For her part, Rebecca says the storm howled fiercely through her Bronx neighborhood, but the worst she suffered was “losing cable for five minutes.”

Coach "Dibo" DiBenedetto

Malcolm Davis, the football coach who started the campaign for Dibenedetto explained that he’d worked for the now retired coach years ago and played for him early in the elder coach’s career. Malcolm says, “I’ve been a football player all of my life. I’m a good football player. Good football players make plays, they make an impact.” When he heard what had happened to his dear friend Coach Dibo, he thought “something has to be done.” He decided, “I’m going to rally the troops.” He launched a campaign on . There, Ahmed Shama, a former player and U.S. Marine told him about GoFundMe and Coach Davis quickly launched the page. Coach Davis has been proactive about raising the money, noting, “I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

On the page set up for football coach DiBenedetto, the coach writes, “It's overwhelming to see and read this outpouring of love that I am receiving from the people who are great friends and are very dear to me. The things we have shared and the challenges we have faced together as football players, choral students, colleagues and friends give me the strength to move forward and meet this latest challenge in my life with a firm resolve.”

Kate O’Sullivan, who launched the page to help the folks in her neighborhood of Rockaway Beach promises to give all of the money to help her and her neighbors rebuild. She says everyone in the neighborhood comprised mostly of civil servants--teachers, cops and firemen--is working together and helping each other. Kate wanted to shout out her appreciation, saying, "Thank you to the sanitation department," which she says has been especially great in the early days.

GoFundMe CEO Brad Damphousse tells me, "We built GoFundMe to be the place where family, friends and communities come together and support one another when they need it most. Americans know that real charity starts at home, not in the offices of government agencies. GoFundMe empowers individuals to take immediate action and do the right thing when others are in need. We're honored and humbled to play a small role as thousands of regular people are coming together to accomplish amazing things for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those whose lives are forever changed as a result of this storm."

GoFundMe isn’t the only site offering people the chance to raise money to organize their own disaster relief. HelpersUnite.com is another site where disaster victims can create a profile and request help. HelpersUnite is owned by EarlyShares.

Stephen Temes, Chairman and Co-Founder of EarlyShares, said by email, “Having lived the majority of my life in New York City, the devastation that the North East is now facing after Hurricane Sandy really hits home. This hurricane is something that will take more than a while to recover from and we want to make sure that families have a way to reach out to their friends and loved ones for targeted support to help get their lives back on track. These people will need help dealing with the destruction that Hurricane Sandy has caused. As the initial shock subsides, the damage will remain and these families will still need long-term help. The ability as time goes on for these families to draw from their network of friends, family, community, and anyone else for financial support via our social giving platform will make a real difference for those that need it the most."

If you are interested in helping me with my research for a forthcoming book on crowdfunding for social entrepreneurs, please click here. Those who participate in the survey will receive a free download of my book, Your Mark On The World.